TIGER TALES
February 2015
Principal’s News
Dear Families,
Go Tigers!
Dr. Betsy Schroeder
Merrill Elementary School
1635 Nelson Ave.
Beloit, WI 53511
Telephone: 608-361-2600
School Hours 7:50 – 2:55
Betsy Schroeder, Principal
Paula Hunt, Secretary
Tiger Tales
are learning to blend and take apart letter
sounds to make words for reading and
writing. Students have been drawing
pictures and writing sentences to tell a
story. They will be starting to work on how
to write information using words such as
first, next and last to explain how to do
something.
K4 News
Mrs. Harwick, Ms. Lindsey, Mrs. Mortimer,
Mr. Gile
Hi families!
We are half way to kindergarten! We will
be celebrating 100 days of 4K! We have
learned so much already! In February we
will be focusing on ordering events, number
identification, and extending and creating
patterns. We will also focus on tracking, or
watching, print left to right, making
predictions, rhyming, and fiction and
nonfiction.
Our February Parent Child Activity is
Thursday February 12 at 1:30.
Thank you for your continued support with
your child's learning!
Kindergarten News
Ms. Adama, Mrs. Drake, Mrs. Ross,
Mrs. Ryan
February is a busy month! Kindergarten
will be celebrating the 100th Day of School
and Valentine’s Day. Information about
both events will be in your child’s folder
soon. 
The students are making progress learning
skills to read more independently. They
Math will involve exploring shapes both 2
dimensional (square, triangle, circle,
rectangle) and 3 dimensional (cube, cone,
sphere and rectangular prism).
They will learn how to use shapes to make
other shapes. The students are also
working on addition and subtraction facts
and story problems.
Social Studies is learning how good
citizenship helps the community. The
students become aware of why following
rules is so important. For our Black History
Month assembly, the students will be
singing “Sing About Martin” followed by a
short power point presentation about Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Please make sure your child arrives to
school on time. School begins at 7:50 am.
Students should be dressed appropriately
for the weather for daily outdoor recess.
We appreciate your support to remind your
child to bring their Homework Folder every
day and return their school library book on
time.
Thank you for sharing your child with us! 
Tiger Tales
First Grade News
Mrs. Freitag, Mrs. Shulta, Mrs. Simmons
Second Grade News
Mrs. Davidson, Mrs. Elter, Mr. Kearns
Second graders have been busy studying Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. this month. We’ve
been watching informative videos in media
and in class. Students have been reading
books and Scholastic News articles
dedicated to Dr. King. Mrs. Weaver helped
second graders create beautiful portraits of
Dr. King during art class, some of which are
on display in the 2nd grade hallway. After
studying Martin’s life, Mrs. Elter’s class
created timelines depicting important
events in his life. The whole school was
fortunate enough to attend an assembly
about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his
lessons of love and acceptance that he
taught during his short life.
Second graders have learned many valuable
life lessons from our study of this great
man!
Third Grade News
Mrs. Mork, Mrs. Rufer, Mrs. Stokstad,
Mrs. Woodkey
First of all thank you for supporting your
child’s learning at home and making sure
their homework is completed. In math this
quarter we will be teaching your child how
to multiply with numbers 0-12. Having your
child practice skip counting and quizzing
them on their facts will help them a lot!
Thank you for your understanding with our
new report cards and please call your
child’s teacher with any questions. Parent
teacher conferences are coming up in
February so be looking for the notice in
your child’s take home folder. It is very
important that we meet with you about
your child’s progress. Plus your child loves
for you to meet their teacher and talk
about them! Please try to check their
folders daily if your child does not bring it
to you. Your child should also be reading
20 or more minutes per day at home and
should be able to tell you what reading skill
their class is working on. Thank you for
your involvement with our school and
children!
Music Notes
Mrs. Gartland
On Feb 4th all 3rd graders in Beloit will be
going to BMHS for a performance of Beauty
and the Beast, by Opera for the Young.
Several of our students will be part of the
student chorus. They are working very hard
learning their parts and learning about
Opera.
Kindergarten and 1st grade are working on
their Spring Concert, "BUGZ". Please mark
your calendar for March 12th at 6:30. The
gym will be "buzzing" with excitement.
P.E. News
Mr. Traeger
Dear Parents and Guardians,
January has been a great month in Physical
Education as we have returned from break
and gotten right back in the swing of
things. We have been working on volleyball
skills with the 2nd and 3rd grade students,
and learning various ways to volley balloons
with the 4K-1st grade students. In February
we will be learning gymnastic skills that
include a variety of different balances,
stunts, and tumbling skills. Following our
gymnastics unit we will be moving on to
circuit training, in which students will be
learning a lot of different exercises to keep
their bodies healthy.
Tiger Tales
MCLC NEWS
There is lots going on in the MCLC.
Students, staff and parents enjoyed the
first monthly assembly called “Buzz off
Bully." The next assembly, in which all
students and parents are welcome to
attend, is February 18th. It is called
Marvelous Math and promises to be a great
time.
We hope to see many of our students and
families.
Our next Open Library for families is March
21st. Watch for more details.
Attendance and Early Pick-ups:
It is very important for your child to be at
school every day for the entire school day (7:50
– 2:55 p.m.). We would appreciate it if you
would schedule appointments after school.
Also, a note should be picked up at the
appointment and turned in when your child
returns to school.
Emergency Contacts: Please make sure your
emergency card has the names and phone
numbers of adults who are able to pick up your
child. If someone other than an emergency
contact will be picking your child up from
school, please send a written note or contact
Mrs. Hunt at 608-361-2600 as soon as possible.
Tiger Tales